Arias Vasquez vows no disruption to care services despite planned strike at Lifecome

The Gibraltar Government and the Care Agency are “of course” preparing contingency plans to ensure service continuity if a planned strike at Lifecome Care goes ahead on April 1 and 2, Health Minister Gemma Arias Vasquez told Parliament on Wednesday.

Ms Arias Vasquez was responding to a battery of questions from the Opposition on Lifecome Care, the company contracted by the Care Agency to provide domiciliary care to the elderly.

“I would wish to take this opportunity to tell all users of the service that the service will not be interrupted if there is a strike,” she told Parliament.

Ms Arias Vasquez said the Government was in contact with both Unite the Union, whose members voted overwhelmingly to take strike action “due to the endless issues” they say they have faced since the transfer to the company in September 2024.

“But of course, in the same way as we would with any other strike action, we are looking to see what contingency plans can be made,” the minister added.

“So we are looking to see how we can look how we can provide the service in different ways.”

Pressed by GSD MP Atrish Sanchez, Ms Arias Vasquez said the Government had already made clear it was not happy with the service being provided by Lifecome Care and had taken this up with the company.

“Ms Sanchez] knows that at present we are not satisfied with the service being provided by Lifecome Care, and the Government has engaged lawyers in this respect,” she said.

“The Care Agency has a contract for domiciliary care and home support with Lifecome Care, and the Government expects Lifecome Care to meet all of its contractual obligations.”

“Lifecome has a simple choice. Either they deliver as they legally said they would, or their lifeline is cut and they’re gone.”

Ms Sanchez had asked a series of questions on detailed aspects of Lifecome’s operation, but Ms Arias Vasquez said these should be addressed to the company itself.

The Government was “acutely aware” of concerns raised by service users and was taking steps to enforce the contract, the minister said, adding she could not provide further at this stage.

“Because of the sensitivity of the issues at this precise moment in time, it is incumbent on the Government to try and manage the issue so that the end user, so that the service user, so the elderly in our population, do not feel any effect on the service,” Ms Arias Vasquez said.

Ms Sanchez countered that this position was “very convenient” and that the minister should offer more information.

“It's very simple, basic information that we're asking for here,” Ms Sanchez said.

“And if it is the Government's thought that they have mechanisms to ensure that contractual obligations are met, then this information should be very readily available for the Government.”

“And if it is her position that she does not want to share it in a transparent and an accountable manner, then that is her position to take, but I would urge her not to hide behind a legal review.”

That comment drew a stern response from Ms Arias Vasquez, who said: “I am not hiding behind absolutely anything.”

“I have stood in this House and I have said with conviction and with a certain amount of bravery that we are not satisfied with the service that Lifecome Care is providing,” she added.

“We are not satisfied with the services Lifecome Care is providing and we are looking to Lifecome to either provide us with the responses that we require or they will understand what the consequence of not providing us with that is.”

“So [Ms Sanchez] can be as inflammatory as she wants.”

“This Government has been entirely transparent. This Government has actually held the company to account and this Government has provided a contract and provided services over and above anything that Gibraltar has ever seen.”

“We have moved from 68 packages of care at the time that [the GSD] was in office to 512 packages of care that we currently provide.”

“What we are looking to do is to make sure that each and every one of those packages of care receives the quality of care that they need.”

Earlier this week, Lifecome told GBC it had faced obstruction since taking over the domiciliary care contract, alleging a coordinated campaign to remove it from Gibraltar.

The company said it had delivered beyond its obligations and urged carers to reconsider the decision to strike.